Wanted
by mainemom22
Summary: A Jake/Heather fic
1. Chapter 1

It was well after midnight by the time Jake made it back to the Sherriff's office. Cleaning up the mess at the crossroads took time. They couldn't afford to be sloppy. Jake had sent the rest of the rangers home and was waiting for Beck's return from New Bern. He knew a confrontation was coming. Just how far would Beck push back? It was then he heard the door open.

"Jimmy, I thought I told you…" He stopped mid sentence when he looked up and saw Heather standing in the doorway. She was drained of color and by the look in her eyes he could tell it wasn't good.

Heather could sense what he would be asking and didn't give Jake any time to ask his question.

"I saw Emily at Bailey's, she told me what happened. Is Stanley going to be o.k.?" Heather saw the anguish in Jake's eyes.

"Looks like Mimi is going to make it, that should help but I don't know if he'll ever be the same Stanley again." Jake knew this from experience. Once you crossed a certain line, there was no turning back.

Heather nodded. It seemed there was a lot of that going around this town lately.

"Russell and Mike came to see me tonight." she blurted out and quickly looked to the ground.

Jake looked back at her, the concern evident on his face. He had seen first hand that the Russell that he encountered out at the crossroads today seemed different from the one that had helped them back at BlackJack. "What did he want?" Knowing that her answer contained another problem that would be added to his list.

Heather hated asking for help. She had been on her own for such a long time and had become self-sufficient. It had been her against the world but the world had drastically changed. And after what had happened in New Bern, she knew Constantino's threat was something that she couldn't take lightly. She was scared and for the first time she was going to ask for help.

She decided that there was really no way to say it without sounding like she was in some movie. It came flowing out of her fast, at an almost incoherent pace. "Constantino wants me dead. It seems there's a price on my head. Russell came to warn me."

Jake wasn't sure he had heard her right. The surprise was evident on his face. "Heather, what…"

Before he could continue she interrupted. "Russell took Goetz back to New Bern?" waiting for Jake to confirm what Emily had told her earlier.

"Yes, he brought the body back." He never broke the concerned gaze he had trained on her.

"Russell said that if he brought Goetz back that it would buy me some time." How much, I'm not sure." She looked up to find Jake still staring at her. She held his gaze searching for some sign that he believed she would be all right. If he believed it then maybe she could too.

Jake approached Heather and placed both arms on both sides of her head to make sure she understood him completely. He could sense her fear and need for reassurance. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Do you hear me? It's not going to happen."

With that said he wrapped his arms around her. Now what in the hell was he going to do?


	2. Chapter 2

Major Beck returned from finding Goetz hanging from a tree at the New Bern town line with a number of troops and entered the Sherriff's office. The anger that was coursing through him evident in the way he carried himself. He would not, could not be blatantly ignored.

The site of Heather in Jake's arms however caused him pause. There was something about this woman that had caught his attention from the first moment he saw her. Coincidently, she had been in his arms then as well. He knew why. He just couldn't bring himself to admit it. He saw his wife in her.

Her hair was almost the same color and they shared a lot of the same qualities. Intelligence, beauty, the willingness to stand up and do what's right. But especially they way she always seemed to put everyone else before herself. Claire had done that for him. Through every hazardous deployment, every transfer, every bump in the road. Now he could not be there for her. He just prayed that some Army Major was doing the same for her.

He eased his tone toward Jake, in an effort to still be able to keep Heather's respect.

"We have a problem, Jake."

The glare the Major sent Jake's way was enough to let him know that the slack that he had been given was all used up.

Heather knew that if she were going to survive Constantino's bounty she may very well need both of these men to do so.

"Major, do you have a moment? I need to speak to you, it's urgent. Please?….Major, I…."

"In my office." Beck's reply was short and to the point. Heather hesitated for a moment and was caught off guard by the tone of the Major's voice when he commanded "Now!"

Heather nodded and headed towards his secure office. Beck then turned his attention to Jake. "You sit in that chair and don't you move." He then turned to his Lieutenant, "If he moves, shoot him."

Jake held Beck's glare all the way to his seat. He could not afford to back down now either. He would not let Stanley pay for a revenge that was rightfully his.

As Beck closed his office door behind him, Heather looked through the shades at Jake sitting, surrounded by guards with automatic weapons trained on him. Beck then made his way over to the window and closed the shade. Whatever she had up her sleeve had better be good. For both their sakes.


	3. Chapter 3

To say the tension inside Major Beck's office was thick would have been an understatement. He quickly tried to put his anger for Jake Green aside and delve into this urgent matter that Heather had approached him about, but that would be easier said than done. He had no doubt that this had something to do with the embrace he had caught them in earlier. He could see from Heather's appearance that she was rattled and that worried him. He moved from his spot at the window and sat behind his desk.

Heather was fighting an inner battle with herself. The fact that she had helped Jake and Hawkins remove the page from the Air Radiation Report still weighed on her. She still didn't feel right about betraying Beck but she trusted Jake and she truly believed there was no other choice other than to do what she did. Though she considered for a brief moment telling Beck what she had done, she knew that would make things even more complicated.

Beck "Are you going to tell me what's going on? I'm sorry, but there are certain matters that need attending to. I don't mean to be short, but…."

"How are your men in New Bern?" Heather asked quickly.

Beck was caught off guard by the question but soon realized that this was typical Heather.  
"I lost six men, four others are in the hospital. We're not here to discuss my men though are we?" He shot Heather a questioning look.

"It's related to what happened in New Bern." Heather replied.

"I see. Please continue." Beck was a little unsure of where this was going, but unlike Jake, he was willing to give Heather the benefit of the doubt.

Being Beck's liaison had put her on Constantino's radar again and she doubted there was anyway to get off it now. She hoped the bond she shared with Beck would be strong enough to get Jake out of the mess he was now in.

"What happened to Goetz, wasn't Jake's fault." She stared nervously at the desk and then back up at Beck. "It was mine."

Beck wasn't sure he was hearing her correctly. "How? How could you possible be involved in this?" He knew there had to be more to her story and figured it had to to with the man his guards surrounded.

"New Bern infiltrated Jericho while you were away. In fact, they were here in this very building tonight."

Beck was torn for concern for Heather and anger that his control of the area seemed to be slipping away with every tick of the clock. Not only was Jake Green challenging him but now Heather was as well. His anger getting the best of him. "Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?"

"Because, I didn't report it. It seems they had a choice on who they brought back tonight. Goetz or me. It was either me or him. They chose Goetz." Heather physically cringed at the thought of now being New Bern's most wanted. "It seems being your liaison may cost me my life."

Beck rose from his chair and grabbed the paperweight from his desk and hurled it at the shaded window. His breaking point had been reached. 


	4. Chapter 4

Heather had seen the Major under some pretty trying circumstances lately, but she had never seen him lose control. It scared her. So much that she began to tremble, unsure of what his next move might be. She hadn't even had a chance to get into the whole Goetz/Mimi/embezzlement thing or how Goetz had literally pushed the Ranger's backs against the wall. She wondered if she would have the chance.

She also knew that Jericho needed Jake to remain as Sherriff. She recalled the conversation that she had with him and Hawkins at the Green home and knew the stakes of the game were higher now than they had ever been. How much further either one of them could stick their necks out before paying the ultimate price weighed heavily on her. She hoped this wouldn't be that time.

Beck saw how his outburst had frightened Heather and struggled to regain his composure.

"I apologize for my outburst, Heather. It shouldn't have happened."

Heather nodded hesitantly at the Major. "There's more." She stopped for a moment looking to see if she should continue, when Beck didn't say anything she began again. "It seems Goetz was embezzling from J&R. He orchestrated the attack out at the Richmond Farm. Mimi Clarke had evidence in a ledger there. Goetz didn't realize she had survived the attack until after you left. He went after her at the Med Center. The Rangers protected her. Goetz called for reinforcements and went to meet them. Before they arrived, the Rangers were able to give them the slip."

Up until this point Heather had remained true to the day's events but to get Jake of the hook she would have to embellish the next part a bit. "I told New Bern what direction Goetz went in and I did it to save my own life."

Beck looked Heather up and down deciding whether or not to believe the story that had come spilling out of her. He wished he could say he didn't but one look into those crystal blue eyes told him she was terrified. He also wished he didn't have to carry out his next order of business, but with the chaos erupting around him he had no other choice.

"Follow, me please." Beck didn't make any eye contact with Heather as he left the office. She followed.

Jake was still sitting in the chair Beck had left him in. When the crash of the broken window came he tried to rise but found a number of automatic weapons shoved in his face. He hoped Heather was alright and he sure as hell wished he could be a fly on the wall of this conversation. He was glad to see Heather follow Beck from his office. She appeared nervous but otherwise she was intact.

Beck gave signaled for his Lieutenant to come to him. "Take Miss Lisinski to holding. No one is to have access to her unless I grant it." He made sure to stress his next words. "No one. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes sir! Came the Lieutenant's reply.

Jake began to protest but was quickly shown his seat again. He locked eyes with Heather just has she was being led away to the holding cells. She gave him a quick nod to show that she was o.k. and was gone through the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Heather had no more than left the room when Beck turned his attention towards Jake. His mind was racing with different scenarios of what the true story regarding Goetz's demise was. He believed Heather when she told him of the price on her head but knew that Jake was more involved than she was letting on. He knew her penchant for protecting others at all cost and took this into consideration.

He didn't want to send her to holding but knew if his investigation wasn't done by the book, Valente would surely find a replacement for him. Considering the questions he was having about his boss at the moment, that would possibly mean putting the whole town of Jericho at risk. Something he wasn't about to let happen. His thoughts turned to his wife for a brief moment. As much as Claire and Heather were alike, he shuddered to think of the things she could be involved in.

The truth of the matter was, the holding cell was probably the safest possible place for Heather at the moment. It would give him time to sort through this mess and possibly let him find a way that all of them could make it out intact. 

He ordered his men to leave the room and pulled a chair in front of Jake and sat down. He wondered if Jake had caught on to his divide and conquer plan. Hopefully, he could procure some information from him that Heather had left out.

"I believe my last words to you before I left yesterday, were that no harm was to come to Goetz. I'm curious to know how you think him hanging from a tree outside New Bern follows those orders?" 

Jake knew he had to be careful here, to say that he had pushed Beck to his limit, was well, an understatement. But he also felt the need to place some of the blame back where it belonged. "Goetz would still be here, if you would have listened to me and not left for New Bern."

Beck was furious. "Jake, I put my trust in you when I offered you the Sherriff's position and this is how you repay me?"

Jake shook his head, "You wanted to keep tabs on me. Don't go fooling yourself." was his reply.

Beck knew this conversation was going nowhere fast and with Heather's "confession" there was nothing he could hold Jake for at the moment without inciting a riot with the local townspeople. Word of Bonnie Richmond's death would soon sweep the hillsides of Jericho like wildfire and when it came to light just exactly what Goetz had done, keeping order would be difficult. He needed Jake on the streets to maintain calm.

"What about Heather?" Beck was pulled from his thoughts by Jake's question. 

'_Good Question!' _he thought to himself. '_What about Heather.' _"I'm in the middle of an investigation here Sherriff, I'm not at liberty to share any information with you at this 

time." Goetz knew this would get to Jake. He had seen them together only a couple of times but could see a deep connection between the two.

"She's a citizen of Jericho….." Jake started.

Beck wouldn't let him continue. "That will be all, Sherriff." He could see Jake about to ask another question and again repeated his last order with a little more force. "I said, that will be all."

As Jake left the building, he glanced through the door that Heather had disappeared through. There had to be a way to get to her. There just had to be.


	6. Chapter 6

Jake left town hall and headed out to the old feed warehouse where the rest of the Rangers were held up. He signaled with the correct knock and the door was opened. Charging towards the table and asking for a map.

Jake had sent them all there to protect them from possible retribution on Beck's part. They were happy to see that it was him who had walked through the door but could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong. Eric was the first to speak. "Jake, what's going on?"

Jake raised his eyes from the map and locked eyes with his brother. "Beck took Heather into custody for Goetz's murder."

"What?" Bill and Jimmy said in unison as they approached the table. Jimmy continued on "But she….."

Jake nodded his head, "I know, she's saved all our asses again." Jake looked back down towards the map, "They took her from city hall, call in all the Rangers, we'll have to fan out and search for some possible locations." 

Just then another knock came at the door. When it opened, there stood Robert Hawkins.

"Good timing, Hawkins, I'll need your help with a stake out. We have a mutual friend that needs our help." Jake held Hawkins's stare.

Hawkins replied with his usual nod and they both headed towards the door.

The echo of the cell door shutting behind her was a sound that Heather knew she would never forget and hoped to never hear again. But here she was, once more, locked in a cell. The last time this happened, she had been lucky to escape with her life and make it to Camp Liberty or so she thought at the time. She couldn't help but think that everything that was now happening was somehow her fault. A scream of frustration escaped her as she ran her hands through her hair and sat down on the lumpy cot.

Scenes from her time in New Bern began to flash through her mind bringing back memories of things she had tried to forget. When she and Eric had been captured after setting the break assembly plant on fire, it was Eric who had kept her from going to that deep dark place. She had never liked small spaces. One of the punishments she endured growing up was to be locked in a closet and this was way too close to that. He wasn't here now to offer that support so she replayed his words of encouragement over and over again looking for something to hold onto. 

The cell was small and was bordered by two others, one on each side. The room that held them was not much bigger. No windows were located in the room and the only sound she could hear was the buzzing of the fluorescent lights. She hoped she could push down the panic that had started to build in her, she couldn't let it get the better of her.

As she laid down on the cot she replayed the conversation that she had had with Russell wondering how he could side with a man like Constantino. That man had nearly killed her once and now he was coming after her again. She shivered at the recollection of being shoved into a trunk after he'd given the order to have her killed. The cold, blackness of that trunk so reminded her of the cell she was now in. The walls seemed to be closing in around her. She placed both hands over her ears and curled into a ball. Silent tears began to fall. She had to be strong, she just had to be.


	7. Chapter 7

Jake and Hawkins had taken to searching the north side of Jericho looking for any sign of Beck's men and what possibly could be considered a holding facility. Jake had given Hawkins the cliff notes version of the scene that had taken place in the Sherriff's office.

All Hawkins could do was shake his head. Their working relationship had developed out of necessity and circumstance, and yet, there was a trust that had developed between them that came from having to lay out all their cards on the table. Jake's need to save everyone all of the time was beginning to seriously interfere with being able to keep the package safe but at least his need was an honorable one.

Hawkins was never anything but blunt when it came to conversations with Jake and he couldn't afford to change his way now. "I know you said we could trust her, Jake, but this isn't exactly the best circumstances for us to be in right now. Maybe we should be thinking of getting out of Dodge and quick."

Jake had sensed what was coming and was just as blunt with his response. "No way in Hell. The fact that I'm even out here right now is because of her, I'm not gonna leave her high and dry. She wouldn't even think of doing that to me and I won't consider doing it to her. Besides, I'm not the only one who owes her, Hawkins." Jake looked over from the driver's seat and locked in Hawkins's gaze.

He nodded. "I know, Jake. That's exactly what has me worried. The military has very inventive ways of extruding information from those they think may possess it…….and it doesn't usually involve just talking. I know that they are only interested in what happened to Goetz but there is no way to tell what she might say after a little leverage is applied." He looked over towards the driver's seat to see Jake peer at him from the corner of his eye.

"All the better we find her fast then, don't you think?" Jake didn't want to think of the things that might happen to Heather while in custody. He didn't believe that Beck would do such a thing, but with the investigation growing and Jennings and Rall's involvement, who knew how much longer Beck would have control of the witnesses and the investigation. Jake's foot pushed down a little harder on the accelerator as he sighed to himself, _'Where are you, Heather?'_

Beck approached the cell door and peered through at the sleeping lump in the cot. How he had arrived in this situation had been replaying in his mind over and over again, as if he might be able to find a way to change it. For the first time in his military career he was torn between his duty and what his heart told him was right. He understood why he had become vulnerable to her but that didn't make things any easier.

His report to Valente of the past night's events had turned into an explosive exchange. Goetz had been sent personally by Valente to run the day to day operations and now Goetz was dead on his watch. Valente wanted answers as to how all of this could have happened and would hear nothing of Goetz's supposed involvement in embezzling and the murder of a young local girl. How a little town like Jericho, Kansas could be such a thorn in their side was beyond him. Nothing was to interfere with the mission at hand which was still finding Sarah Mason.

Valente's last order still echoed in his mind….. "Use any and all means necessary to obtain information on what exactly transpired between Ravenwood and the towns of New Bern and Jericho."

Movement from the cot below caught his attention and brought him out of his deep thoughts. He saw her eyes open and crystal blue spheres come to the realization that she was not alone. She sat up quickly to identify her visitor…….._'Any and all means necessary.'_


End file.
